Maroon turned dark in Aggieland as everyone from the players to the yell leaders were decked out in blackout threads for their SEC matchup against Mississippi State.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The #6 Texas A&M Aggies welcomed the Mississippi State Bulldogs to College Station and the always-ruckus Kyle Field in a night where everyone from the players to the yell leaders were decked out in blackout threads hoping to continue their undefeated season.
Despite A&M’s best start since 2016, the Aggies are one of the most penalized teams in all of college football and Head Coach Mike Elko thinks he found a way to limit the amount of penalties his players commit during the span of a game.
Elko recently told the media, with a smirk on his face, he started a coaches’ Cabo fund that players will start to contribute to if they commit a penalty on gameday.
“I’ve tried all kinds of things,” Elko said of the issue. “Today, what we started was the Texas A&M football coaches’ Cabo fund. So, what’s going to happen now is, every time one of our players gets a penalty, they’re going to contribute to the coaches Cabo fund. We’ll see if that works.”
He might’ve been kidding but if he wasn’t, seven players added to that fund after committing 77 yards worth of penalties in the first half alone.
But after a sloppy first few drives with no scoring, the bulldogs got on the board first when kicker Kyle Ferrie knocked a 24-yard field goal through the uprights. (0-3)
Midway through the 2nd quarter, A&M found themselves in a 1st and goal situation where the Bulldogs stuffed them on four straight plays to halt the Aggies from scoring while in the redzone for the first time this season.
On a crucial 3rd down towards the end of the first half, a huge strip sack by Cashius Howell was erased by a roughing the passer penalty after DJ Hicks hit the quarterback too high on the helmet with his hands.
But on the very next play, Howell got to the quarterback again and forced an interception for the Aggies’ first takeaway of the game.
A pass interference call on State’s CB Kelly Jones helped give A&M’s offense the lift they needed to have at least chance of tying the game before intermission.
They did more than just tie the game after Marcel Reed connected with KC Concepcion for a 34-yard touchdown where he bullied his way into the endzone with a pack of Bulldogs on his back. (7-3)
When State got the ball back, the Aggies’ defense was still hunting as they got to the quarterback several times and used timeouts to preserve time for the possibility of extending their lead before the end of the half.
They were halted on their first few plays of the drive so head coach Mike Elko decided to let time run out and close the curtains on a first half that was dominated by the defensive side of the ball.
After a slow start to the second half, Reed found one of his favorite targets Mario Craver on a crossing route across the field for 42 yards before he was tripped up before goal line, giving the Aggies a chance at redemption after being stonewalled their last trip inside the 10-yard line.
And they did exactly that when Reed floated a touch pass to his other star WR Concepcion for their second touchdown connection of the night. (14-3)
Reed and the offense reached their stride as he completed 8 of his last 11 passes before heading into the 4th quarter.
Riding the back of Craver down the field, Reed capped off the 10-play, 79-yard drive with a rushing touchdown of his own. (21-3)
The Aggies defense flexed their muscles to essentially put the nail in the coffin when number 8 poked the ball out from the Bulldogs’ receiver and into the hands of Dalton Brooks to set up a quick 24-yard scoring drive after Craver joined the touchdown party with his good buddy Concepcion, who ended the night with two of his own. (28-3)
After 28 unanswered points scored by the Aggies, the Bulldogs were able to finally reach the endzone after Blake Shapen connected with Brenan Thompson for a long touchdown pass with just eight minutes left. State’s holder bobbled the snap on the field goal attempt before the kicker was able to try and add the extra point. (28-9)
Kicker Randy Bond capped off the night with the Aggies’ final points after knocking through a 27-yard field goal. (31-9)
In front of the fifth largest crowd in Kyle Field’s illustrious history, the #6 Aggies blew out Mississippi State 31-9 and added another impressive SEC win to their growing resume.
Texas A&M will look to end their three-game home stand in College Station with a win against Florida, who is coming off a big victory against the #9 Texas Longhorns.